The Jungles
Literally Swarmed With Guinea-Fowl--I Shot Nine In A Few Minutes,
And Returned To Camp With Dinner For My Whole Party.
The only
species of guinea-fowl that I have seen in Africa is that with
the blue comb and wattles.
These birds are a blessing to the
traveller, as not only are they generally to be met with from the
desert frontier throughout the fertile portions of the south, but
they are extremely good eating, and far superior to the domestic
guinea-fowl of Europe. In this spot, Soojalup, I could have
killed any number, had I wished to expend my shot: but this most
necessary ammunition required much nursing during a long
exploration. I had a good supply, four hundredweight of the most
useful sizes, No. 6 for general shooting, and B B. for geese,
&c.; also a bag of No. 10, for firing into dense flocks of small
birds. On the following morning we left Soojalup; for several
miles on our route were Arab camps and wells, with immense herds
of goats, sheep, and cattle. Antelopes were very numerous, and it
was exceedingly interesting to observe the new varieties as we
increased our distance from the north. I shot two from my camel
(G. Dorcas); they were about the size of a fine roebuck;--the
horns were like those of the gazelle, but the animals were larger
and darker in colour, with a distinguishing mark in a jet black
stripe longitudinally dividing the white of the belly from the
reddish colour of the flank.
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